Studies of gender differences and individual variability in age-related phenomena are being carried out to: 1) determine the "normal" range of variability in human aging, 2) identify potential sources of variability which may be responsive to intervention, and 3) determine if there are subgroups of individuals who are more susceptible or resistant to various aspects of aging. The research combines the use of sophisticated statistical methodologies and the unique time depth and multidisciplinary breadth of the existing BLSA data base to examine issues related to the concepts of "normal" and "successful" aging, as well as to increase the power of traditional research designs. The statistical methods used include longitudinal regression models, time dependent proportional hazards analysis, and finite mixture models. Major findings include: 1) hearing sensitivity--there is a gender cross-over in hearing thresholds with men have better sensitivity at low frequencies and women having better sensitivity at high frequencies; 2) hearing change--longitudinal rates of decline in hearing sensitivity are at least twice as fast in men compared to women; 3) blood pressure--BLSA men and women do not exhibit the commonly observed gender cross-over in blood pressure with increasing age; 4) blood pressure change--preliminary findings suggest that accelerated longitudinal changes in blood pressure are a risk factor for coronary events; and 5) pulmonary function--longitudinal rates of decline in pulmonary function are faster in never-smoking men than in women. These findings represent significant contributions to the theoretical and methodological development of biomedical risk factor studies, as well as to an increased understanding of the dynamics of the aging process. Research is underway to develop more refined methods of studying variability in aging in order to develop theoretically and methodologically sound approaches to risk factor analysis which account for changes in an individual's covariates over time and the possibility that individuals differ in susceptibility or resistance to aging processes.